[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 42 (Monday, March 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14079-14080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04867]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Legal Processes
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part
of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden,
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on the continuing information collection, as
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before May 3, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0046 comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records Officer, Office of the
Chief Information Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office,
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Shirley Hassan, Office of General Law, United
States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA
22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-3000; or by email to
[email protected]. Additional information about this collection
is also available at http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information
Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The purpose of this collection is to cover information requirements
related to civil actions and claims involving current and former
employees of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The
rules for these legal processes may be found under 37 CFR Part 104,
which outlines procedures for service of process, demands for employee
testimony and production of documents in legal proceedings, reports of
unauthorized testimony, employee indemnification, and filing claims
against the USPTO under the Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. 2672)
and the corresponding Department of Justice regulations (28 CFR part
14). The public may also petition the USPTO Office of General Counsel
under 37 CFR 104.3 to waive or suspend these rules in extraordinary
cases.
The procedures under 37 CFR part 104 ensure that service of process
intended for current and former employees of the USPTO is handled
properly. The USPTO will only accept service of process for an employee
acting in an official capacity. This collection is necessary so that
respondents or their representatives can serve a summons or complaint
on the USPTO, demand employee testimony and documents related to a
legal proceeding, or file a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
Respondents may also petition the USPTO to waive or suspend these rules
for legal processes. This collection is also necessary so that current
and former USPTO employees may properly forward service and demands to
the Office of General Counsel, report unauthorized testimony, and
request indemnification. The USPTO covers current employees as
respondents under this information collection even though their
responses do not require approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act. In
those instances where both current and former employees may respond to
the USPTO, the agency estimates that the number of respondents will be
small.
There are no forms provided by the USPTO for this collection. For
filing claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the public may use
Standard Form 95 ``Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death,'' which is
provided by the Department of Justice and approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 1105-0008.
II. Method of Collection
By mail or hand delivery to the USPTO.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0046.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other
for-profits; not-for-profit institutions; and the Federal Government.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 299 responses per year. The USPTO
[[Page 14080]]
estimates that approximately 10% of these responses will be from small
entities.
Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that it will take
the public from 5 minutes (0.08 hours) to 6 hours to gather the
necessary information, prepare the appropriate documents, and submit
the information required for this collection.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 88 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost Burden: $32,354. The USPTO
expects that the information in this collection will be prepared by
attorneys and former employees, except for the requests for employee
indemnification, which generally come from professional and supervisory
staff. Since many of the former employees affected by this collection
are attorneys, the estimated rate of $371 per hour for attorneys will
be used for former employees as well. The USPTO estimates that the
respondent cost burden for attorneys and former employees submitting
the information in this collection will be $32,277 per year.
Using the estimate of $77 per hour for professional and supervisory
staff, the USPTO expects that the respondent cost burden for submitting
requests for employee indemnification will be $77 per year. Therefore,
the USPTO estimates that the total respondent cost burden for this
collection will be approximately $32,354 per year.
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Estimated annual Estimated annual
Item Estimated time for response responses burden hours
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Petition to Waive Rules.................. 30 minutes....................... 5 3
Service of Process....................... 5 minutes........................ 243 19
Forwarding Service....................... 10 minutes....................... 7 1
Employee Testimony and Production of 1 hour........................... 23 23
Documents in Legal Proceedings.
Forwarding Demands....................... 10 minutes....................... 10 2
Report of Unauthorized Testimony......... 30 minutes....................... 1 1
Report of Possible Indemnification Cases. 30 minutes....................... 3 2
Employee Indemnification................. 30 minutes....................... 1 1
Tort Claims.............................. 6 hours.......................... 6 36
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Totals............................... 299 88
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Estimated Total Annual Non-hour Respondent Cost Burden: $3,436.
There are no capital start-up, maintenance, or recordkeeping costs
associated with this information collection. However, this collection
does have annual (non-hour) costs in the form of filing fees and
postage costs.
This collection has filing fees associated with the petition to
waive or suspend the legal process rules under 37 CFR 104.3. The USPTO
estimates that approximately 5 petitions will be filed per year with a
fee of $130, for a total fee cost of $650. There are no other fees
associated with this information collection.
Customers may incur postage costs when submitting the information
in this collection to the USPTO by mail. The USPTO estimates that the
average first-class postage for a mailed submission, other than a
Service of Process, will be 92 cents and that up to 56 of these
submissions will be mailed to the USPTO per year, for a postage cost of
$52. The USPTO estimates that the average postage for a Service of
Process will be $11.25 and that up to 243 of these submissions will be
mailed to the USPTO per year, for a postage cost of $2,734. The total
estimated postage cost for this collection is approximately $2,786 per
year.
The total annual (non-hour) respondent cost burden for this
collection in the form of filing fees and postage costs is estimated to
be approximately $3,436 per year.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will
become a matter of public record.
The USPTO is soliciting public comments to:
(a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility; (b)
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (c) Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the burden
of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including
through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.
Dated: February 27, 2013.
Susan K. Fawcett,
Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-04867 Filed 3-1-13; 8:45 am]
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